


Don't Let Go

by DariaDixon



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Hurt, Family, Human Turtles (TMNT), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2020-04-24 18:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19178833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DariaDixon/pseuds/DariaDixon
Summary: This is an AU with human 2k3 turtles. A brother, broken by the deaths of his wife and children and consumed by guilt. All he wants to do is give up and let go, but there is something keeping him here. When the Foot rears its head again to finish what they started, he'll find out what that something is.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, this story was originally posted a while ago, but there was some technical difficulties that I needed to fix, so it should be better now... hopefully.

Leo knelt down next to his brother's bed as he slept restlessly. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving him alone, not in this state. His little brother had become mentally and emotionally damaged over the years and he only seemed to get worse as time went on. The incident ten years ago really took a toll on him. So much so, that the three remaining brothers mutually decided that he shouldn't be alone and should stay with one of them. Leo, always being the one to shoulder responsibility, took his brother into his home and has been taking care of him ever since. He covered up his little brother with a blanket and sighed.

"Go away, Leo." Leo flinched when he heard his brother's voice. He was just sleeping a couple minutes ago. And his voice, Leo could never get used to it sounding so weak and gravelly. "Just leave me alone. I deserve to be alone."

Leo shook his head quickly, strands of his black hair falling in front of his face. "Don't say that, bro. It's not true."

The younger brother sat up in bed, letting the blanket fall off his shoulders and stared directly into his older brother's grey eyes. "I couldn't protect them. What kind of person can't protect their own family?"

"You did all you could." Leo tried comforting him with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

The younger brother pushed his hand off of his shoulder and broke eye contact, choosing to look at the floor instead. "And it wasn't enough. I would give anything to have them back, to hold them again, but that will never happen because I failed to protect them. " He laid back down and hid his face in his pillow. His shaking body was the only indication that he was sobbing. "I...I miss them, Leo."

"I know," Leo spoke softly, ignoring his own tears rolling down his cheeks. "I know you do." he sniffled. "... now get some rest. I'll be in the next room if you need me, okay?" The younger brother didn't respond. Leo sighed again and stood up as his brother tried drifting off to sleep.

Leo forced himself to leave the room before he actually broke down at the sight of his brother. He left the door open a crack in case a nightmare took hold of him, which it usually did. There's no stopping them, but at least he could be there for him when it does happen. Even if he didn't want Leo there. Leo leaned up against the wall next to the door and slid to the floor as he sobbed silently. Remembering some of the good times he had once had, when his family was whole.

* * *

_"Hi Uncle Leo!" a little boy came up to him smiling brightly._

_"Hey, what's going on buddy?"_

_"Do you think I'll be a good fighter like you and Dad?"_

_Leo knelt down to meet the boy at eye level. "You sure can, but it's going to take practice."_

_"Yeah, we'll fight all the bad guys." another boy looking exactly like the first came bounding toward them, pouncing on his twin brother._

_Leo quickly corrected them. "Hey now, remember this doesn't mean you go out looking for someone to fight. You use your martial arts ability for self defense only, understand."_

_"Yes, Uncle Leo." they replied in unison._

_"Good, now go play." he gave them both an affectionate pat on the head before they ran off to go find their cousins._

* * *

That was about ten years ago when they had that conversation and that was the last time Leo ever got to see them before they were taken from this world. He leaned his head back against the wall and shut his eyes, wishing that things would go back to the way they were and knowing full well that it wouldn't happen. He stayed there for what felt like hours, until he finally heard someone fiddling with the lock on the front door. It was most likely his wife and kids so he quickly got up off the floor and wiped the remainder of his tears away. Once the door opened, he immediately greeted his family.

"Hey guys, how was school?" he said with a smile. A smile that everyone in the room knew wasn't genuine at this point. His family knew that most of the time it was forced.

"It was great. I got an A on my math test." Leo's eleven year old daughter, Kayla, answered as sincerely as possible. She had long black hair surrounding the fair complexion of her face. Freckles dotted her cheeks and sat underneath her blue eyes. She pushed a strand of her long black hair behind an ear and averted her eyes to the floor to keep from looking her father in the eye. She would never admit to it out loud, but she hated seeing him like this.

"That's great, sweetie." Leo responded.

Leo's thirteen year old son, Jayden, had fairly pale skin and smokey grey eyes that matched his father. Like his sister, he had black hair, but it was shorter and shaggier. He had his eyes locked on the door to his Uncle's room and wasn't paying much attention to the conversation going on. "How about you, Jayden?" Leo said bringing his attention back to him.

"Huh? Oh... yeah, it was fine." he answered quickly, fiddling with strands of his black hair that hung loosely in front of his face. "I'm gonna do my homework now." he grabbed his backpack and went to the coffee table. Kayla followed suit only she ran upstairs to her room.

Jenna sighed heavily, grabbed her husband by the hand and led him to their bedroom. Leo was kind of confused by the sudden actions, but followed her anyway. "What's wrong, hon?" Jenna asked once she shut the door behind them. She let her hair down from it's hair clip, letting the dark curls fall over her shoulders.

Leo turned away and said "Nothing."

Jenna dropped her hair clip on the vanity, walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his muscular frame in a comforting embrace. "I know something must've happened. I could see it in your eyes. Is he okay?"

He gave a sad chuckle and shook his head. "No, he's not." he raked his hand through his graying black hair and sighed again. It took all of his energy not to start crying again. "He's getting worse. The more I try to talk to him, the more he tries to push me away. I wish there was more I could do for him."

"You're doing all you can, my love, but don't worry," she looked up so her icy blue eyes met his his grey ones. "We'll get him through this... somehow." she tried.

"I hope so." Leo said.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Please, let me go." he begged as his brothers held him down. Leo quickly tossed the pill bottles off to the side. "I can't do this anymore. Please, let go. Let me go. I'm begging you."_

The words replayed in Mikey's head over and over like a broken record. His big brother was begging for death. He was planning on overdosing on a mix of aspirin and antidepressants and with the empty bottles of beer lying around, it would have been a lethal concoction. And if they had been just one second later, they would have lost a brother that day.

Never in his entire life did he ever think that he would see his brother so broken, so willing to give up. On the other hand, Mikey couldn't really blame him. His wife and two sons were taken from him and it seemed to happen so fast with no way to stop it.

He remembered when he and his little twin nephews would just roughhouse, laugh and joke around with his daughter when they were younger. They would sometimes pick on her for being younger and smaller, but Mikey knew that they cared about their younger cousin.

There was one twin that always had the oddest habit. A small grin spread across his face as the memory popped into his head.

* * *

_"Jonah," Mikey asked when he saw the six-year-old sitting on the couch staring at nothing in particular and drinking from a juice box. "What are you staring at?"_

_The child didn't answer, he just kept staring, lost in his own thoughts. Mikey shrugged and crouched down in front of him so he was at eye level and stared back. The child blinked a few times and cocked his head to the side, confused. He stopped drinking his juice and asked. "What are you doing?"_

_Mikey shrugged. "You were staring, so I thought I'd join you."_

_Jonah got up off the couch and walked away stating. "You're weird, Uncle Mikey."_

* * *

It was something so simple and yet it made him laugh. Even now, ten years later. He always wondered what was going on in that head of his when he stared off into space like that. He had that air of intelligence about him.

Mikey stared down at his cup of hot chocolate in silence as he waited for his wife, Leilani, to return home with his son, Luke. Once they got home they would head over to Leo's house. He made it a habit to go down there at least three times a week to be there for him and to help Leo with the caretaking. He sighed and raked a hand through his short blonde hair out of habit. "I think I feel a headache coming on." he murmured to himself.

"Need some aspirin then?" a female voice asked.

Mikey looked to the sweet, innocent face of his fourteen year old daughter, Nicole. She had light brown skin and chocolate brown eyes. Her curly blonde hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. He gave her a sad smile. "Thanks, princess." She held out the bottle to him and sat down at the table. He took the pills along with a gulp of his hot chocolate, then sighed. "You know, you don't have to come with me to see your uncle every time." he wasn't exactly sure why he decided to bring this up now, but he just hated that his kids had to go through this along with him.

Nicole sighed and began fiddling with a strand of the curly blonde hair that escaped from her ponytail. "Well, I've thought about not showing up, but I can't really bring myself to do it." she looked up and her brown eyes met with her father's baby blue ones. "Whenever I think about trying to avoid him, I just remember how much fun he used to be and how he would be there for us if we needed him. Now, I feel like he needs us... all of us to be there for him." she scratched the back of her head before continuing. "Yes, it does get kind of depressing to see him like that, but..." she paused not really knowing how to finish that sentence.

Mikey placed a hand on top of her head. "I get it."

"Sorry, I kind of rambled, didn't I?" she asked, slightly embarrassed.

"It's okay, I know what you were trying to say. And I appreciate it."

He then heard the door opening followed by a very excited voice. "Dad, Dad, Dad!" a young boy called as he ran into the kitchen holding a piece of paper in his hand. Light brown skin like his sister, round, excited blue eyes and mousey brown hair hung loosely around his head.

He was followed by Leilani, who stood in the doorway and waited. "Luke has something to show you, babe." she was a Hawaiian native with light brown skin, long, straight brown hair and brown eyes to match. She kept a pink artificial hibiscus flower in her hair to keep that island look about her. She was always a happy person, but when the incident with Mikey's brother happened she couldn't really keep all that happiness going.

"What's up, little man? What do you have for me." Mikey turned to Luke, who was still bouncing slightly in excitement. His brown locks bouncing as well.

"Look at what I drew." Luke pretty much shoved the piece of paper he was holding in his hand into his face.

Mikey took it and got a good look at it. It was pretty messy, which was natural considering the artist was only ten years old, but you could tell it was a drawing of his older brother holding a hand of two children that he assumed were his sons. Mikey smiled. "Is this for your uncle, Luke?"

He nodded excitedly "Maybe it'll make him feel better."

"Thanks, Luke, I'm sure he'll love it." he gave his son a smile. He just loved that his son voluntarily took the job of trying to cheer everyone up. "So are we all ready to go?"

"I believe we are." Leilani spoke up from the doorway.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Luke cheered already halfway to the front door.

Nicole laughed at her little brother's antics. "Hey, wait up!" she said as she caught up with him.

"Shall we go then." Leilani said.

Mikey shut his eyes for a second. "Yeah, let's go." with that, they headed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, it's not Mikey. There's only two options left.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, time to find out which brother it is, if you were actually trying to guess, that is.

Standing on the stoop of Leo's home, was Don, his wife Stephanie and his two sons, fifteen-year-old Warren and twelve-year-old Ethan. Stephanie, coming from a Jamaican family, had brown skin and hazel eyes. Her dark brown hair was in long, tight twists on her head. Stephanie was a childhood friend of the brothers, so when Raph fell apart, Mikey, Don, and Leo weren't the only ones heavily affected by it.

Donnie quickly ran a hand through his short, curly brown hair before knocking with a heavy sigh. Jayden answered seconds later. "Hey Uncle Don, Aunt Stephanie, come on in." he greeted solemnly and moved out of the way to make room.

Once the family of four was inside, Warren immediately sat down on the couch with his little brother in tow. While their boys made themselves comfortable, Don and Stephanie noticed something off about their young nephew. He looked exhausted, as if he hadn't slept in a couple of days.

"Jayden, are you alright?" Stephanie asked.

Jayden yawned and rubbed his tired eyes "I'm fine."

"You look exhausted." Don said. "You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," he waved it off. "I'm okay."

Don obviously wasn't buying it. He stepped up to the young teen, making him look directly in his grassy green eyes. "When was the last time you got a decent amount of sleep?" Don asked. "I'm worried about you."

"Well, stop it, okay. I'm not the one you need to be worried about." Jayden snapped. "I've got homework to finish up now." he walked back to the coffee table where he left papers strewn about. Don and Stephanie gave each other a look and shrugged before heading to the kitchen to talk to Leo.

Jayden sat back at the coffee table and his two cousins each took a peek at what he was working on. "Need any help, cuz?" Warren offered. Warren had much darker skin than Jayden with deep green eyes. He had purple tipped dreadlocks reaching his shoulder blades, pulled back in a ponytail. Ethan sat on the other side of him with a lighter tint to his skin, compared to his older brother. Short, spiked, dark brown hair and hazel eyes.

Jayden looked up to his older cousin and shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine."

"You sure?" he questioned, curiously.

"What is with the third degree from everyone?" Jayden snapped. "I said I'm fine. Nothing's wrong."

"Jayden..." Ethan spoke softly, realizing that his cousin was talking about something completely different. "he just wanted to know if you wanted help with your homework."

Jayden exhaled softly and looked up at his older cousin. Warren merely raised a dark eyebrow at him "Sorry..."

Warren gave him a sympathetic smile. He knew how hard this was for everyone, especially Jayden. Ever since they were younger Jayden always considered Raph to be his "favorite uncle." And he always spent so much time with Raph's twin sons. When the incident happened, naturally Jayden asked a bunch of questions. Asking where the twins were and what happened to Aunt Olivia. Trying to explain to a kid that he would never see them again and that Raph wouldn't be the same anymore was one of the most difficult things his parents had to say to him. "It's okay, cuz. You want some help now?"

"Yeah, I just really need a little help focusing."

"Don't worry, I got you."

* * *

"Hey Don, hey Steph." Leo greeted when Don and Stephanie walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, how is he?" Stephanie asked.

"I think he's getting worse," Leo responded with a shake of his head. He took a sip out of the mug he was holding in his hands, trying to calm himself. "He hardly gets out of bed for anything, he barely eats, he hardly talks. When he does decide to talk to me, it's only so he can tell me to go away."

"I should go check on him." Don offered, heading to Raph's room.

"Try not to wake him, this is the longest he's slept in a long time."

Don nodded his head before entering the room.

"How are you guys holding up?" Stephanie turned her attention to Leo and Jenna.

Leo shrugged as he leaned against the kitchen counter. "About as well as I can."

Stephanie nodded, understanding. Taking a quick peek at her two sons sitting on either side of Jayden as they helped him with his homework, sparked another question. "What about Jayden and Kayla?"

Jenna sighed. "Well, Kayla is handling it a bit better than expected. She's very helpful around the house when she can, but I feel like she's outright trying to avoid her uncle at all costs. Jayden, on the other hand, is really not taking things well."

"Yeah, I kinda noticed that just now. He looks exhausted."

"I think there's some sort of underlying issue. It's not just Raph." Jenna stated. "I feel like he wants to tell us something, but for whatever reason, he can't."

"Or won't?" Leo asked.

Jenna shrugged. "It's possible."

"What other issue is there? If it's not Raph?" Stephanie inquired, thoughtfully.

"Maybe... his family?"

Stephanie cocked her head to the side, curiously. "Really? Why would he be thinking about them? What does he know?"

Leo ran a hand down his face. "He knows that Olivia is gone, but he thinks that the twins are still missing, we never told him exactly what happened to them."

"So, he thinks that you guys just stopped looking for them?" Stephanie asked.

"Unfortunately, that might be the case."

* * *

Don slowly stepped into Raph's room. It was completely dark inside. Raph was facing away from him, curled up in a ball. Don moved to the other side of the bed and turned on the bedside lamp revealing his brother's face. He winced when he saw Raph stir slightly, but he didn't wake up. Slowly he peeled the blanket away looking over his thinning body, a result of his lack of proper nutrition and exercise. Every time Don would check him over, it worried him. It's not healthy for him to stay in bed day in and day out, but after his loss, Raph felt like there was nothing left to live for. He felt responsible for what happened and the guilt just ate away at him until it finally pushed him over the edge. He hasn't been able to forgive himself and Don wasn't sure if he ever would.

His eyes grew misty as he remembered what his older brother went through over the years, what his older brother had to see, what they all had to see. The sight of blood pooling around him, seemingly never ending. The sight and smell of burned hair and skin in the air. His brother's uncontrollable sobs and his understandable and inevitable breakdown. Don never felt more helpless. He was the thinker, the problem solver, but he couldn't do anything to stop his brother from essentially deteriorating. This was a problem he couldn't solve.

He covered him back up and stood. "Don..." Raph rasped. Don looked down to see that his older brother was awake and staring up at him.

"Hey Raph," Don spoke gently. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

Sad, dull amber eyes met with his sympathetic brother's for a brief moment before staring back out the window with a blank stare. He shook his head. Don knelt down beside the bed. "Then what is it?"

"Why are you here?" he asked.

Don swallowed back a lump in his throat. "Raph..."

"What do you want?"

"I'm just checking on you."

"Don't..." Raph stated simply. "Just leave me alone."

Don shook his head. "Raph, you know I can't do that. You're my brother and we have to take care of each other." Don watched as his brother's glazed over expression seemed to aim toward a random corner of the room. "Now, go back to sleep."

Raph's eyes snapped back to meet Don's gaze. "I wasn't sleeping."

Don was confused when he heard this. "Why weren't you...?"

"Nightmares." he whispered and Don immediately understood.

"...They're getting worse?" the younger brother asked. Raph responded with silence. "I'm sorry." was all Don could say.

"Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything. This is all my fault. I deserve this. This is payback for failing to be a father and a husband."

"Raph... none of this is your fault."

Raph looked up at Don with a scowl. "Don't lie to me!" he snapped suddenly, causing Don to flinch. Raph noticed this and sat up in his bed. "Sorry." he said softly. "You should go, Don, go be with your family."

"You're my family, too."

"But they're more important, they need you."

"So do you."

Raph's eyes went right back to the corner of the room. Anything to avoid that pitiful look his brother was giving him. "... Go, Don."

With a heavy sigh, Don stood and headed for the door.

"Did he wake up?" Leo asked him once he was out of the room.

"He was awake the whole time. Leo, I'm worried. He's not getting enough sleep..." he paused. "Because he's afraid to go to sleep," Don explained. "He said he's still having nightmares."

Leo sighed heavily "I figured as much."

There was another knock at the door and Leo went to go answer it.

Don looked back at the door to Raph's room. _I wish there was more I could do for you, bro._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep it was Raphael.
> 
> Find out what happened exactly in the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Failure.**

"Quiet." Raph mumbled into his pillow.

**Useless.**

"Please, leave me alone." he felt tears roll down his cheeks as the voices in his head continued.

**You failed them.**

"Please... stop." he cried quietly. He couldn't be any louder or he would alert his brothers. They weren't aware of the voices in his head.

**You're the one that should be dead... not them.**

"... I know." he definitely couldn't deny that. He wouldn't deny it. He wants nothing more than to leave this world, leave the place where he lost the love of his life, Olivia and his twin boys, Aiden and Jonah.

Raph's dull amber eyes moved up to one of the framed photos of them at one of their family get-togethers. Olivia was perfect for him. She had soft, tanned skin and these piercing green eyes. Her thick black hair surrounded her oval shaped face. She was a tough girl, had a spunky attitude and never backed down from him when others would. It was definitely a trait that could get annoying, but it also attracted him to her. His sons, his innocent, little boys were only six years old when they were taken away. He reached up and traced a finger over the photo. "I'm sorry." he mumbled. None of this would've happened if he only had expected the unexpected. He had gotten too comfortable with his life, let his guard down and that led to his downfall.

* * *

_Raph had just pulled up in front of his home after a long day. It was getting late and the streets and sidewalks were empty. He stepped out of the car and moved to open the back door, just as his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He didn't answer, he would call whoever it was back when he got inside._

_"Come on, you two." he said. Two tanned skinned boys hopped out the backseat and ran to the front door. They were identical twins, both with short, chestnut brown hair neatly combed back by their mother before their day started. They had bright, amber eyes just like their father. The only way you could tell the difference between them was by the heart shaped birthmark on Jonah's upper bicep. That was the only way the rest of the family was able to tell them apart. Raph followed them up to the front door. He stuck the key in the lock and turned it, letting the little balls of energy inside._

_"Dad, look at this." Aiden happily pulled a new item out of his backpack to show to his father. It was one of those clips that kids hook onto their backpacks. His was round and had a detailed green dragon etched into it. "A lady made it for me at school today. Isn't it cool?"_

_"Yes, it's very cool. Do you want to put it on your book bag?" he offered._

_Aiden took another quick glance at it and said "No, not yet."_

_Raph shrugged then chuckled. "Okay then."_

_"Dad, can we stay up later, today?" Jonah asked innocently._

_"No, you've got school in the morning."_

_"Please." they both begged, giving Raph their best puppy dog eyes._

_Raph groaned, he was not resistant to that look. "Fine, but only an hour and don't tell your mother."_

_The twin boys excitedly ran to the TV and turned it on. Raph smiled and shook his head. His phone rang again and this time he answered it. "Yo."_

_"Raph!" it was Leo and he sounded panicked. "I was trying to get a hold of you."_

_"Leo? What's up?" he asked now feeling slightly panicked as well. He could hear some kind of commotion in the background. "What's going on?"_

_"Where are you?" Leo ignored his brother's question and instead asked another question._

_"The boys and I just got home." Raph answered. "What's going on, Leo?"_

_"It's the Foot, they're..." that was the only thing Raph heard before a loud crash made him turn his attention to the window and front door. The twins screamed in terror and ran to hide as the strangers broke into their home. The Foot had busted their way in and before Raph could react they attacked. Raph didn't have his weapons, he was outnumbered and outmatched. Nothing could stop this beat down. All he could do was try to fight and listen to his sons cry as they were forced to watch their father get overwhelmed. One of them struck Raph on the head with a blunt object. His world turned black as he lost consciousness._

_He woke to panic-stricken voices and someone shaking his shoulder. "Raph, wake up?" it sounded like Leo._

_"Babe, open your eyes." a tear-filled voice begged. That sounded like Olivia. "Please."_

_He finally opened them to see the faces of his brothers, who were all holding their weapons, and his wife. "Dude, are you okay?" Mikey asked worried. He sat up and rubbed his head. There was a nasty lump back there and some bruises on his body, but other than that he felt okay._

_"Yeah, I think so." he groaned. Just then Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug and sobbed. Raph hugged her back. "What's going on?" everything that happened seemed to be a blur._

_"The Foot, they caught us while our guard was down." Don explained. "We had to go into hiding underground, in the lair."_

_Realization dawned on him as the previous events came back to him. He became visibly shaken when he noticed two people were missing. "Where's Aiden and Jonah?" he heard Olivia's sobs get louder and looked back up to his brothers "Guys?"_

_It took a while before someone finally spoke up. "I'm sorry, Raph. They're not here." Leo said sadly. "We've looked all over the house. We think the Foot took them."_

_Raph's breathing became shorter and more ragged when he heard that. He stood up as quickly as he could. "What?" he shook his head and ran upstairs._

_"Raph...?" Leo started up the stairs after him. He found Raph in his bedroom searching around in his closet._

_"Raph, we've already looked in there." Leo sighed._

_"I know, I believe you." Raph finally found what he was looking for, a metal box. "That's why I'm going to go look for them." he opened it and pulled out his twin sai. "Get Olivia to the lair." he started to walk by his older brother, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder._

_"You can't go by yourself."_

_"Help if you want, I don't care, but right now I'm trusting you to get my wife to safety while I start looking." Raph headed back downstairs, where everyone else was still waiting._

_"Raph, hold on. We'll all go together."_

_"I don't have time for that!" he snapped. "They were my responsibility, I was supposed to watch them, I was supposed to protect them and because I couldn't do that, they've been taken. I can't wait." he looked to Olivia and saw the tears that were still streaming down her face. He turned away from her and tightened his grip on his sais. That look she was giving him, he didn't like it. "Go with them, Liv." He quickly ran out before anyone could stop him._

_Months went by with no signs of where they might be. He saw plenty of ninja and when he found them he was anything, but gentle with questioning. Some even met the unfortunate end of his sai. He was ruthless in his search for his sons. He looked everywhere, even taking a chance searching through Saki's tower alone, turned out to be a bust. The clues that he did manage to get would usually lead to a dead end. They were toying with him. His brothers would help him, but whenever they would call it a night, Raph would continue looking. Searching until dawn when the city started bustling with life. He would stay out longer and search harder. He practically ran himself ragged._

_When he did get back to the lair. He would see his brother's children, they would ask him where Aiden and Jonah were and that would only frustrate him more since he couldn't give them a real answer besides "I don't know." Little Jayden and Warren were the most persistent out of all of them considering they were the closest to the twins. The worst part of it all for Raph was having to face Olivia when he got back from searching. Raph had convinced himself that she was blaming him for what happened so he couldn't even bring himself to look at her. Not until he brought his boys home._

_About a month after, the worse thing happened. One night after listening to Olivia cry herself to sleep again. He made the decision to continue his search on his own. He made sure she was asleep, got up out of bed, got dressed, grabbed his weapons and headed out. When he got topside it was raining cats and dogs, but that wasn't going to stop him. Within seconds, his clothes were soaked through and his brown hair stuck to the sides of his face. He started his search by looking in every alleyway for any signs of the black clad ninjas. Little did he know, he was being followed._

_"Raph?" a voice called._

_He turned to see Olivia standing there staring at him. She was soaked and out of breath from trying to keep up with him, she didn't even bother to change out of her pajamas. "Liv, what are you doing out here?" he asked immediately turning away from her._

_"I'm here to tell you to come back to the lair. You've searched enough for tonight." she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him._

_"No," he gently pushed her away. "I can't rest until I find them."_

_"But you're no good to them if you're exhausted. You need to rest."_

_"Every second I waste, they could be getting further away or they could be getting hurt. I can't waste time." he turned away from her. "And I can't stand seeing you cry anymore. Go back to the lair, where it's safe." he started to walk away._

_"I don't blame you." she said suddenly causing him to freeze in place. "I really don't."_

_"Well... at least one of us doesn't. Just go back, I'll be there soon."_

_She slowly approached him. "Please Raph, just..." she was cut off when a ninja landed right in front of her. She gasped getting Raph's attention. He turned just in time to see the Foot ninja run her through with his sword._

_He felt numb in that moment, he felt his blood run cold and everything seemed to move in slow motion. He watched as the ninja withdrew the sword from her body, watched her crumple to the floor and he let out an enraged yell as he sprinted toward the lone ninja. The Foot soldier turned and caught a fist to the face. Once he was on the floor, Raph stood over him and plunged the sai deep into his chest. He repeated the same action again and again his anguished yells getting louder as he punctured more holes into the now very dead body. Blood was everywhere._

_When he finally stopped he made his way over to Olivia. He cradled her in his arms as she coughed up blood and gasped for air. "Liv," he spoke gently to her. "Just hold on, I'm gonna get you some help." He took his phone out and quickly dialed Leo's number._

_"Raph?" Leo answered sleepily._

_"Leo, I need you to get down here." he knew he was crying, but there was no telling the difference between his tears and the rain running down his face._

_"What?" Leo wasn't fully awake yet._

_"Please, Olivia is hurt and she needs help. Please hurry." he begged._

_He seemed to wake up when he heard that. "Yeah, I'll be right there." Raph quickly told him where he was then hung up. He looked back down at his suffering wife. He did all he could to try and keep her alive, but when he looked in her pain filled eyes and as he was forced to watch her cough up more of that much needed blood, he knew he was only delaying the inevitable._

_His brothers never made it in time. They found them in an alley. Raph was cradling Olivia's lifeless corpse close, hiding his crying face in the crook of her neck. He was holding her hand tightly as if it would somehow bring her back. Begging, pleading for her to come back and that he needed her._

_At the funeral, he showed the first signs of a break down. He spent hours knelt down near her grave, just staring at the tombstone. Eventually his brothers had to step in to provide some sort of comfort to their distraught kin. They all knelt down near him. They didn't say anything, which was great because Raph really didn't want to hear what they had to say._

_Raph must have stayed there for at least an hour before he finally spoke. "I have to find them." he muttered wiping away the remainder of his tears._

_"We know Raph, and we will." Mikey reassured._

_A few more months passed as their search continued. Raph was becoming more desperate by the day. He had to find them, he had to believe that they were okay. It was the only shred of hope he had to hold onto. The Foot appearances seemed to be dwindling after a while and Raph was starting to get worried._

_One night, they did manage to find a small group of ninjas on a rooftop, there were about eight of them all gathered around. Two of them were holding onto fairly large bags. The brothers decided to keep out of their direct line of sight._

_"What do you think they're talking about?" Don asked._

_"Who cares?" Raph muttered "I'm going over there."_

_"Wait, Raph" Leo grabbed onto his shoulder. "If we follow them then they might lead us to the rest and to your sons."_

_Raph hesitantly hung back with his brothers and waited for them to start moving. After a few minutes, the Foot soldiers took off along the rooftops. "They're moving." Raph took off after them. He could tell that his brothers were right behind him. After running a couple blocks, they noticed that they were heading in a direction that was pretty familiar._

_"Guys, where the hell are they going?" Mikey asked._

_"No idea, but I've got a bad feeling." Leo said._

_When Raph heard that, he moved even faster still managing to keep up with them. Eventually they came to a stop on the roof of... "My place?" Raph questioned completely confused by the whole thing._

_"Why would they stop here?"_

_"Maybe they want to try and finish me off." Raph said as he glared daggers toward them._

_The ones holding the large bags, placed them on the rooftop. "It looks like this is where they are making their actual stop." Don said._

_"Then let's go." Raph sprinted towards them with his brothers right behind him. The brothers made quick work of them. One was kicked off the roof and two managed to get away._

_"They seemed to be in a real hurry to get out of here." Mikey noticed._

_"Doesn't matter, we still have a some of them here. Check the bags." Raph stormed over to one of the ninjas who wasn't completely unconscious and grabbed him by the collar of his uniform. He could hear his brothers fussing with the bags. "Why did you come here?" he questioned._

_The barely conscious ninja only pointed to the towards the bags before passing out again. He dropped the body with a growl and turned toward his brothers, but something seemed off. Mikey had turned away from them and was covering his face with his hands. Leo was already trying to seal the bags back up. Don had stood up and stopped in front of Raph to prevent him from coming any closer. "Raph, hold on, I don't think you need to see that."_

_Raph tried shoving his younger brother aside, but he stood firmly in place. "Outta the way, Don."_

_"I'm serious, Raphael." he placed both hands on his shoulders._

_Raph ignored his little brother. "Leo, what's in there?"_

_The only response he received from him didn't come from his mouth, but from his body language. Leo was facing away from him and his shoulders noticeably tensed. Raph looked over to Mikey and he could see that he was visibly shaken by what he saw. He looked Don in the eye and noticed that his hazel eyes were brimming with un-shed tears as he continued to hold him back. "What's in those bags, Leo?" he growled as fear and worry started to set in._

_Leo's shoulders slumped. "Let him go, Don." he ordered._

_"But Leo..." Don started to argue._

_"Just" Leo interrupted then let out a sad sigh. "let him go."_

_Don hesitantly stood aside. He really didn't want him to see the contents of the bags. Raph marched up toward Leo, getting more worried as he got closer. When he finally got there and saw what was inside, his stomach turned, he felt like he was going to be sick. He felt like he could no longer stand as he fell to his knees because inside each bag were burned bodies. They were small children and their bodies were charred beyond recognition. Lying on top of one of the bodies was a clip, with a green dragon drawn on it. He picked it up and examined it. Some of the plastic was melted off, but he could tell it was the same one that belonged to..._

" _Aiden." he whispered. That did it, Raph's breathing became very shallow. "No... no, not them." he mumbled. "Please, no."_

_Leo placed a hand on his shoulder. "Raph, I'm so sorry." his voice cracked as he tried to comfort him, but how do you comfort someone in this state? What do you say after everything that has happened?_

_Raph wasn't really hearing anything anyway aside from his own breathing. "Please... I can't...not them." he turned to Leo. "Why? Why is this happening?" he asked as he finally let his tears fall._

_"I-I don't know, Raph, but..." he heard one of the Foot ninjas begin to stir._

_Raph's eyes snapped up to look at him and before anyone could stop him, he pounced on him and wrapped his hands tightly around the ninja's throat. "You bastards, you took my wife, you took my kids! I will fucking kill all of you!" he squeezed tighter._

_"Raph, no." Don attempted to pull him off the struggling ninja. "Don't do this."_

_"I don't care! I already have their blood on my hands, I can add more!" he was starting to sound more unhinged the more he spoke. It took the efforts of all three of his brothers to finally get him off. They had to drag him away from the unconscious body "No, let go!" he screamed as he tried to fight out of his brothers' grip, but to no avail. Just then, he let out a yell. A mournful yell for his family, one that broke his brothers' hearts when they heard it. Eventually he slumped against his eldest brother and sobbed. Leo just embraced him, that was all he could do. He looked to Don and Mikey, and they looked pretty lost on what to do because the only shred of hope Raph had left was now gone._

* * *

The Foot basically vanished after that. Raph withdrew his arm back under the blanket and wrapped his arms around his stomach as the memories flooded his mind. He was vaguely aware of the door opening behind him. Whoever it was, he just wanted them to go away.

"Um... Uncle Raph?" he sounded young. One of his nephews, most likely. He's never been able to turn down one of the kids. "You awake?" he asked, unsure.

Raph sighed. "...Yes."

The sudden excited footfalls led him to guess that it was Mikey's son. Sure enough, a couple seconds later, Luke's smiling face popped up in front of him. Once he saw his uncle's face, his smile turned upside down. "I... um..." Luke was holding onto a piece of paper.

"What is it?" Raph deadpanned.

"Uh..." Raph noticed Luke was not so subtly staring over his shoulder toward the door. His father must be standing in the doorway. "Here." the child said suddenly, holding the sheet out to him.

Raph gently took it away from him and stared at it.

"I drew it... at school." Luke explained. "It's you and..." he suddenly looked embarrassed when Raph didn't say anything. "I'm sorry, if you don't like it. I'll... I'll go." he turned to run away, but Raph caught his wrist.

Forcing himself to sit up, he pulled his young nephew into a hug, wrapping his withering arms around him. "Thank you." Raph whispered, shaking slightly as a sob escaped him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Luke said, nervously wrapping his small arms around him. They pulled apart and Luke went to leave the room... very hesitantly. Once he was gone, he laid back down and held the drawing close to his body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was a long one, but now you know the full story and The Foot is involved.
> 
> Hope you enjoy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Let's just jump right into the next chapter.

Raph sat up and placed Luke's drawing in front of the framed photo of his family. He stood up and slowly shuffled out of the room. He felt eyes on him as he dragged his feet all the way to the bathroom. Once he was in, he shut the door, leaving it unlocked. After what happened last time, Leo and Jenna made a new rule; no locked doors.  _I was so close too._  He thought bitterly.

He did his business and moved to the sink to wash his hands. Once that task was finished, he looked up at the mirror. His pale face seemed to get paler as he stared at the hollow version of himself. His bright amber eyes looked dead and empty, his chestnut brown hair was turning gray. He just didn't feel like himself anymore. He let out a sad sigh.

**Why are you even trying anymore?**

Raph squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his temples as the voice invaded his brain once again. He opened them again and stared at his reflection.  **Look at you. You're pathetic.**

Raph's dull eyes grew wider. Did his reflection just talk to him?  **You are a failure** _._ It hissed at him. Raph shook his head frantically and his reflection laughed.  **Deny it all you want, but you know it's true.**

Raph clamped his hands over his ears and continued to shake his head "No." he coughed out.

**Oh... then I suppose good fathers let their sons, their own flesh and blood, get taken away and burned alive.**

"I didn't mean it. I tried to find them. I n-never wanted this." Raph sputtered out.

 **Well you didn't try hard enough** _._ his reflection chuckled, mockingly _._ **And what about Olivia? I thought you loved her.**

 _"_ I do. I do love her." he could feel tears rolling down his cheeks.

**Ha! Yeah right, if that was true then why isn't she here now?**

"I didn't mean it. I wanted to protect her." he tried so hard to block out the voice, but it was relentless. He looked back at his reflection as it let out a sinister chuckle.

**And now you're just laying around, mooching off your brother and his family all because you failed. How long do you think they'll take care of you before they get sick of you? Face it, you're a failure as a father.**

"No..."

**As a husband.**

"Shut up." Raph muttered.

**And as a brother.**

"I said shut up!" he yelled as he slammed his fist into the mirror. The fragile glass shattered instantly upon impact. Shards of glass collecting in the sink and on the floor around his feet. Given a reprieve, he backed away from the mirror and sank to the floor. He brought his knees to his chest as he rocked back and forth.

* * *

"Hey, little man." Mikey sat down next to his youngest child. "Are you okay?" Luke had been much quieter since he left Raph's room. Seeing his uncle like that really brought him down.

"Yeah," the ten year old pulled his knees up to his chest. "I just want Uncle Raph to be okay now."

He patted his son's head. He knew that Luke wanted Raph to be happy because he'd never seen him that way before. He was born shortly after the incident happened so this Raph is the only one he's ever known. "I know. I do too."

"Do you think he liked my picture?" Luke asked hopefully.

"I'm sure he loved it. He even said thank you."

"Yeah, but he cried though." he wrapped his arms around his legs and rested his chin on his knees. "I didn't mean to make him cry."

"It's okay Luke, don't blame yourself. You did a nice thing for him." Leilani explained to him hugging him close.

"Where is he now?" Leo asked appearing from the kitchen with a cup of tea.

"He went to the bathroom." Don turned to the bathroom door. "He's been in there for a long time though and the sink has been running for awhile too."

Leo hummed thoughtfully, he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. As if confirming his suspicions they heard a desperate yell followed by a loud crash coming from the bathroom. It sounded like glass breaking. The remaining brothers in the room immediately made their way toward the bathroom. Leo knocked on the door. "Raph." he called "Raph!" he tried again with no answer.

He pushed the door open to see Raph sitting in a corner. He was shaking violently, his eyes were wide and glazed over as he stared straight ahead at nothing. His hand was bleeding with small pieces of glass stuck in his knuckles. It was then that they noticed the broken mirror "Raph... what happened?" Don asked approaching him slowly.

"Stay away!" Raph yelled. "Please... I'm sorry." he was looking directly at them, but it was like he wasn't seeing them.

"Raph, it's us." Leo said as he continued to cautiously approach him.

"Let us help you." Mikey said. "That hand looks really bad."

"I know... let it bleed." he looked down at his trembling, bleeding hand. "let it bleed."

"Raph..." Don knelt down next to him. "Let me take a look."

Suddenly Raph pointed a sharp, jagged shard of glass at his brother. "Back off!" he growled. Mikey and Leo got ready hold him down if needed.

Don put his hands up. "Okay." this wasn't the first time that Raph lashed out like this. He just knows that he has to remain calm and speak slowly and carefully. "It's alright, Raph." he carefully grabbed onto his wrist. Raph quickly tried to pull away from him. "Put it down Raph, you're okay." Don held on tight as Raph continued to tug his hand out of his little brother's grip. Don still couldn't believe how weak he was. Old Raph would've pushed him away by now.

Raph's gaze met with his for a second. "Please, let me go." he begged while still failing to free his hand.

"No Raph." Don said. "I'm going to help you. Now, put it down." his determined gaze piercing Raph's, leaving him no other choice, but to give in. He dropped the piece of glass and looked away. Don turned to the others standing in the doorway and nodded. Leo moved to the other side of him so he and Don could help him to his feet.

"Mike, grab the first aid kit." Leo ordered while leading Raph back to his room.

* * *

After cleaning out the wound, Don began wrapping it up in bandages. Everyone just sat in an uncomfortable silence.

"I'm sorry Leo." Raph finally spoke.

"For what?" he asked.

"The mirror." Raph muttered. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it bro. It can be replaced." Leo reassured calmly, rubbing his brother's back.

"Raph," Don started "What happened in there?"

"Nothing, it was nothing." Raph took a deep breath. He didn't want to mention that he was talking to his reflection. He didn't want to say that he was slowly losing it. "Just forget it."

**Liar.**

Raph grimaced when he heard the voice again. "Come on bro, we just want to help you." Mikey pushed, not wanting to upset him. Raph opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but then immediately shut it afterward and avoided his brothers' gazes.

Don finished up with a sigh and patted his hand gently "You're gonna be okay."

"You don't know that." Raph growled, snatching his hand away. There was a long pause before he spoke again "Olivia and I would've been married for almost twenty years." Raph shook uncontrollably. "And Aiden and Jonah, they would be turning sixteen soon. In about a week now." tears pricked the corner of his eyes. "It's not fair, they should still be alive."

"I know Raph." Leo sighed sadly pulling his brother in for a tight hug which he gladly accepted. Either that or he was just to tired and weak to decline. Leo nodded his head toward the door signaling his brothers to start leaving. Don and Mikey both stood and headed for the door while Leo helped Raph lay back on the bed. He calmly and hesitantly led his brothers out of the room. They were greeted with an audience as soon as they stepped out.

"Well..." Stephanie asked, worry etched into her face.

"He's alright." Leo sighed and looked over to Jayden and Warren, both were looking troubled by what they heard. He didn't really like the fact that this was affecting them this much and he wished that they didn't have to see this everyday. "More or less."

 


	6. Chapter 6

Jayden stared out the window of the classroom as he waited for the last bell to ring. He found himself doing that a lot lately. His mind was elsewhere, specifically, it was on Raph's mental breakdown last week. He sighed quietly before his teacher caught him. "Mr. Hamato?"

"Hm... what?" Jayden's gray eyes locked on the source of the voice.

His teacher, Mr. Johnson, had stopped his lecture on Joan of Arc and was looking right at him. "Is there something interesting going on outside?"

"Um... no." Jayden quickly shook his head. "Sorry." his gaze then moved to his younger cousin, Ethan. Ethan shot him an 'Are you okay?' look. Jayden nodded and faced the board to catch up with what he missed. Before he knew it, the bell rang, signaling school had ended.

Jayden let out a heavy sigh of relief as he stood.

"Don't forget to take your tests back before you leave." Mr. Johnson quickly passed out everyone's tests as they walked out the door.

Jayden and Ethan took their tests and walked out the door into the crowded hallways of the school. Jayden looked down at his test and quickly folded it up. "Didn't do so well , huh?" Ethan asked as walked beside him.

Jayden smirked "Now there's an understatement." he sighed.

"Don't worry, I didn't do well either."

"Really? Arguably the smartest kid in the family and probably this whole school, didn't do well on a test." Jayden chuckled.

"Hey, just because I'm super smart doesn't mean I don't have off days. Especially after what happened last week with Uncle Raph." Ethan awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "We've still got to try and stay focused."

Jayden looked to his younger cousin and gave him a knowing smile. "I know, but that's easier said than done."

"Right, it must be rough for you. I get to leave after visiting him, so I can't imagine what being there all the time is like."

Jayden stopped at his locker to get his backpack "It's definitely not easy."

"How do you handle that?" Ethan asked. "How do you get through the day?"

"I just try to keep my mind on other things, but that never lasts very long. Sometimes his panic attacks get so bad that I have to leave the house for a little while."

Ethan and Jayden continue making their way through the crowded halls as middle schoolers continued to make their way out of the building. The boys eventually came to a stop in front of a door that read 'Guidance Counselor.'

"Hey Mom." Jayden greeted as he opened the door to the room. Jenna looked up from her desk when her son and nephew walked in.

"Hello boys." she greeted with a warm smile. Her smile seemed to melt off her face she noticed how sad and exhausted they both looked. "What's wrong?"

Jayden didn't answer and tried to avoid making eye contact with his mother. Jenna stood up from her desk and walked over to Jayden. She placed a hand under his chin and forced him to look up at her. Jayden still refused to say anything so Ethan spoke up. "We just found out that we didn't do very well on our history tests."

"Is this true, Jayden?"

He sighed and nodded.

Jenna knew her son well. "Is it because of what happened with your uncle?" she asked.

"Yeah." he nodded.

"Oh sweetie, I know it must've been hard hearing all of that. Raphael was always your favorite uncle."

"It's not just that, Mom. Something else has been bothering me."

Ethan and Jenna waited patiently for him to finish. Jayden paced around the room. "Be honest with me. Do you think that they are actually dead?"

Ethan gave him a weird look and Jenna responded. "By 'they', do you mean the twins?"

Jayden nodded.

Jenna sighed and leaned up against her desk. She knew this conversation was going to come. She and Leo had told their children about what happened to Aiden and Jonah, but they just omitted some of the information. One bit of info they left out was the fact that they were found dead. Choosing, instead to tell them that they could never be found. They were way too young to know about what actually happened that night. And to Jenna, they still were. "I don't know, sweetie. I mean your father and uncles have searched and it's been ten years. It's hard to tell at this point."

"Well, I don't think they are." Jayden didn't know what, but he knew that something wasn't right. He had a feeling that she was keeping something from him and he's felt like this for a while.

"Well, it's good that you're staying positive, I guess." Ethan said.

"And what about you? What do you think?" Jayden asked Ethan "You're not thinking the same way, are you?"

"I don't know Jayden. It just doesn't seem possible at this point. It's been ten years. I'm sure that they would've been back by now."

"What if they can't? What if they're being forced to do something that they don't want to do and they can't come back?"

Ethan ran his hand over his dark brown hair. "I mean, I guess it's possible, but I don't think we should get our hopes up."

Jayden sighed in defeat. "Right, well it was just a thought."

Just then Kayla walked in the room. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, I believe we are." Jenna said while collecting her bag. "Come on, boys." Jenna led her two kids and nephew out the door to her car in the parking lot. Jayden hopped in the front while the two youngest jumped in the back.

As they made their way home, Jayden kept his attention out the window. He wasn't paying any mind to anything that was going on in the car. When he noticed what block they were on, he tapped Jenna on the shoulder. "Hey Mom, can you stop at the dojo?"

Jenna looked to her son then sighed. "Okay hon."

Jenna drove up another block and parked in front of a building. "Thanks Mom, I'll see you at home."

"Okay."

Jayden climbed out, shut the door behind him and watched the car drive off. He walked up to the front door of the building and pushed it open. He could already hear his father giving out orders to his martial arts students. Jayden kicked off his shoes and put them in an empty cubby, then made his way through the main area where about a dozen teenagers were going through a series of punches and kicks. He quickly made his way to the back room careful not to distract anyone from his father's instruction. Leo noticed him though, but since he couldn't really step away from his class right now, he turned his attention back to his students.

Jayden shut the door to the back room. There was a large punching bag in the middle of the room. He grabbed a pair of fighting wraps and gloves in the back closet and put them on. He turned to the bag and immediately began wailing on it. Every punch becoming more and more powerful and aggressive. This is what he did to relieve stress and now was a good time to release everything he was feeling. Frustration at knowing that his parents were hiding things from him, frustration at not knowing what really happened to Aiden and Jonah. Anger at the people that did this to Raph in the first place. He didn't stop until his wrists and knuckles were sore and he was drenched in sweat. He leaned up against a wall and slowly slid down until he was sitting on the floor.

That is how Warren found him. Jayden didn't notice him walk in as he took his gloves off and threw them across the room in anger.

"Rough day?" Warren asked leaning against the door frame.

Jayden looked up to see his cousin looking right at him "Hey Warren, what are you doing here?"

"I was helping out Uncle Leo with the dojo today. I was about to leave when he asked me to come back here to check on you." he walked over and sat down next to him. "What's going on?"

"I'm just..." he started then sighed "torn, I guess."

"Well, I'm here if you need to talk."

Jayden took a deep breath and decided to ask the same question he asked Jenna and Ethan. "Do you think they're really dead?"

"Who?"

"Aiden and Jonah."

Warren wasn't expecting that question. He instantly turned away from him and started absentmindedly playing with the dreads on his head. Jayden noticed his hesitation "Well?"

Warren didn't want to lie to him, but he felt like he had to. Warren was the only kid that knew what actually happened. After months of pestering his parents about it, they caved and told him everything. It was heart wrenching, to say the least, when he found out that the kids, the cousins he looked up to were actually dead. It hurt even more when he was told how they died. He was shocked. He wanted to throw up, he wanted to cry, but surprisingly he didn't do any of that. Instead he just stood there completely stone faced. How could anyone do that to children? He couldn't put that same burden on Jayden. Then again, Warren was the same age as Jayden when he found out and he knows how persistent his little cousin can be. Still, he had to at least try to deter him. "I mean, it's possible. They could come back."

"You're lying." Jayden stated.

Warren looked to him in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I know you're keeping something from me." Jayden said. "Everyone is keeping something from me."

"No one is hiding anything , Jayden."

"Then why won't anyone tell me the truth?"

"Because you don't need to know."

"Why not?" Jayden exclaimed. "Why can't you just tell me?"

"Because they..." Warren had to stop himself. He almost let it slip out.

Jayden pushed to try and get the info out of him. "What? They what?"

Warren looked away, embarrassed. He had a feeling he was going to have to let out a secret that he wasn't supposed to. "Um, it's nothing."

"No, what were you about to say?" Jayden desperately grabbed Warren's shoulders. "I have to know. Please tell me."

"Jayden..." Warren sighed.

"Look, I can handle it. Just tell me."

Warren sighed again. He knew that Jayden was not going to let this go. "Fine. If you really need to know. Years ago, when they were out looking for the twins, they were able to locate them, but,"

"But...?" Jayden encouraged him to continue.

"They were already dead, they were killed."

"Killed." Jayden slumped up against the wall. "How?"

Warren thought about keeping quiet at this point, but he's come this far. Why stop now? "They were burned."

"Oh my God." Warren noticed that Jayden was getting visibly paler.

"Yeah, now imagine how Uncle Raph must have felt when he saw that."

"Yeah..." Jayden stood up and headed for the exit. "I... should head home."

"Wait up, I'll go with you." Warren started to follow.

"No... I'll go on my own. I need to think for a bit." When he opened the door, Leo was standing on the other end. "Oh, hey Dad. I was just heading home." he quickly moved passed him.

Warren stood up too. "Don't worry Uncle, I'll keep an eye on him and make sure he gets home."

"Thanks, Warren." Leo responded and stepped out of the way to let him through.

* * *

_Somewhere in Japan_

"Are you prepared to leave?" Karai asked when her elite chunin entered her quarters. Dressed in a

"Yes, we are ready to leave when you command." one of the ninjas said.

"Good." Karai said. "I have been waiting years for this moment. Finally, I will be rid of that wretched Hamato clan. After what they did to the Shredder. My father." the ninjas stood waiting for her to finish. "I will destroy the rest of their family just like they destroyed mine." he turned to the ninja. "Go, you know what you need to do." she finally ordered. The ninjas bowed and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Hope you enjoy and hope that you're all staying safe out there.


End file.
